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  Manisha Lakhe

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If you are a Cricket Premier League fan, then you will be fascinated by this ode to baseball movie. It tells you about horsetrading like no other movie about baseball does. The mysterious Indian Censor Board marked it an ‘A’, gave it an ‘Adults only’ certificate, possibly because this movie tells you that there is no Santa Claus. There is no fairy godmother who will help Cinderella become …

If you are a Cricket Premier League fan, then you will be fascinated by this ode to baseball movie. It tells you about horsetrading like no other movie about baseball does. The mysterious Indian Censor Board marked it an ‘A’, gave it an ‘Adults only’ certificate, possibly because this movie tells you that there is no Santa Claus. There is no fairy godmother who will help Cinderella become princess. The romance of the game is in people’s heads. That’s why there are so many hot-dogs sold, so many baseball caps purchased, why so many fans watch it even when they know that the team is losing. And as it does in the movie, the song, ‘Don’t Stop, Believing’ begins to play in your head as well.



But if you are a screenwriter, or a teller of stories, if you love any game and understand the passions that drive these games, the players and their managers to win, then this movie has been written for you. I watched the movie once before at the Mumbai International Film Festival and now again, because the hurriedly scribbled dialog on my notepad needed confirmation. Here are gems which ought to make you leave evrything and see the movie. Brad Pitt proves once and for all that he is more than a glorified nanny to his kids.

Imagine the manager telling his team why they should not worry about the scoreboard:‘When you’re getting your pitch you’re hitting .625. that’s massive...every at bat’s is like a hand of blackjack... with every card that’s dealt, the odds change. so every first pitch strike your batting average goes down about 75 points...’



To a player who thinks he’s cat’s whiskers (he costs 7 million to the team) is cocky and hence underperforming, Brad the manager says, ‘They’re paying you three and a half million dollars to play against them. This is what they think of you... i want to milk the last ounce of baseball you got in you and you want to stay in the show...’

And something that rings true to every one in the audience:

‘I hate losing, I hate it. I hate it more than I even wanna win. And there’s a difference.’



I know movies about sports are predictable and typical. Loser team turns around and wins against all odds, and you have seen Chak De! not too long ago. Cricket movies apart from Iqbal have failed in India simply because it is religion rather than passion, and we don’t like anyone messing with our religion. But the Americans make the most of their passion for baseball, and this time around they show us how to applaud to a win in a game we know nothing about. I would, if I could give Brad Pitt the best acting award for that one scene towards the end where he gives in to instinct and comes into the stadium during the match and watches the score go from 5-11 to 11 all against Kansas City...

See the movie for all these reasons, and this one brilliant dialog:

‘When the enemies are making mistakes, don’t interrupt them...’